42 - the answer to "life, the universe and everything"?

So I just turned 42, about 3 weeks ago. It only struck me this morning, while I was walking Coco in the park just before dawn, that I ought really to have the answer to life, the universe and everything, if Douglas Adams is to be believed. But I don't - far from it. Very far from it. Who does have the answer to life, the universe and everything? Nobody does, I thought. There are plenty of people who like to think they do, of course - but there isn't really an answer, is there? Or at least, if there is, it must be slightly different for everyone.

Or is it? Well, as I was walking, with Coco trotting along beside me, my thoughts meandered along as I watched the dawn breaking, breathed in the (relatively) fresh air and listened to the peace and quiet of the hour before the day unfolds. I began to think about all sorts of things. Politics, voting systems, nanny states, religion, history, war, working mothers, education and homework......my mind meandered along various different paths, trying to sort out what's important, find solutions, understand how I feel about these things. I have felt for many years that there are fundamental problems with our political systems in the Western world, and that politics tends to be all about personalities rather than values, and about bickering, back-stabbing and one-upmanship, who's had a torrid affair with whom, or who's defrauded 'the taxpayer' out of their pension by paying their cousin's uncle's brother's wife's nephew's dog to dig up their patio and bury a few skeletons there, etc. People often vote based on short-term promises: rather than choose a party that presents forward-thinking policies that might lead to progress in the long term, they vote for the personality of the party leader, or the promise of more money via a better job, fewer immigrants (who are seen as 'stealing' their jobs), lower house prices, lower taxes, etc. So, politicians make these short-term promises in order to win votes. This lack of forward thinking is also an indirect effect of having restricted terms of office. Big businesses offer or withdraw backing from political parties based on their corporations' profits and losses - it shouldn't happen, but in many countries it does.

I found myself thinking that maybe I should try and make a difference. Rather than whining about the politics, maybe I should join up and try to change things from within. How do you run for Parliament? I don't know. Maybe you just announce it to the local paper. Maybe you start walking round the neighbourhood, delivering leaflets. Do you have to run for the local council, first? After reading J.K. Rowling's book about local councillors, the thought terrifies me. Imagine me, at a press conference or in an interview with a reporter. They'd ask me what I would do about the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East - I don't know. What about Europe? The economy? Banking regulations? House prices? The jobs market? Immigration? Gay marriage? Scotland? I don't know. The NHS? I don't know. I know how I would like it to be, but can't imagine how we would get there. Climate change? I do know - but you're not going to like what I have to say. Education? Don't get me started......

So I was running through imaginary news interviews in my head as I walked up the hill with Coco, and trying to think about what I would do about all these 'big' questions. Then I realised that actually I don't care about all that stuff. I mean, I do care about some of it - war, climate change and education are very important, clearly - but it's not what it's all about.

What do I believe it is about? Well, for me, it's about kindness and gratitude, at the end of the day. It's simple, really. If we could all be kind to each other - not for gain, but for kindness itself's sake - we could move on from our continual tendency to focus on power, profit and personal gain, and we might find that some of those 'big' issues either begin to resolve themselves, or seem less important. What follows on from kindness is gratitude, of course. A world full of kinder people will be a world full of more thankful people, who are happier, and therefore more able to be kind....lo and behold we have a virtuous circle.

If we could all - all of us, from all walks of life and in all countries, religions and cultures, whatever our beliefs and our politics - be kinder to each other and thankful for what we have, and remember that it IS a beautiful world, and that every person - EVERY PERSON, regardless of their race, religion, beliefs, nationality, etc. - has love in their heart and deserves to be loved, we would start to turn things around. I'm sure of it. Kindness and gratitude aren't going to resolve everything, of course; there are still major issues that need to be tackled, which can't be sorted out easily or quickly. But if kindness is at the root of every effort to resolve those issues, and if we can forget about the past and start to look ahead, then we might find solutions more quickly than we can at the moment.

Think about it. Let's go to the very top. If all heads of state, monarchs and governments based their their policies on kindness rather than on power and personal gain, surely war and conflict would disappear. If respect for others and for the environment, rather than personal advancement and profits, were at the root of all business strategies and policies, surely there would be far less corruption, pollution, etc.. And we might be able to get rid of artificial additives, chemicals and sugar in food - wouldn't that be nice.

Of course, kindness and gratitude on their own aren't going to prevent natural disasters, or serious and fatal diseases and disorders. But think how much more energy and resources we would have to work against those things, if we weren't constantly fighting among ourselves. Many diseases and disorders might even disappear as we manage to reduce our stress levels and generally become happier.

OK, I know it sounds utopian. Is it realistic to think that we can all suddenly change and the whole world will become kinder and more thankful overnight? No, of course not. But it has to start somewhere, and this is where it is about me, you and every individual. I can start a movement. YOU can start a movement. Plenty of people are already trying to start this movement, and have been for years - but now we have more opportunity to spread it, as social media are playing a more dominant role in our lives. Keep paying it forward. Be kind. Be thankful. Little things count. The message will spread - it already is. It's not about what religion you are, what your politics are, which culture or race you are from - it's about the fact that we are all people and we are all living on the same spinning rock, and we have to get on with it. We might as well do it in a positive way and enjoy the ride. And if we teach our kids to be kind, and if they grow up with kindness and gratitude as core values, as they move into positions where they can make a difference they WILL change the world.

So, at 42, do I have the answer to life, the universe and everything? Actually, I still don't think I do. I'm sure there must be more to it than that. But I think I've taken another step closer to finding it. I hope so, anyway.